On Saturday, more than 150 volunteers helped give away vegetables, turkey and fish to families in need this Christmas season.
About 1,400 families signed up as elves for this year’s hamper program, one elf we spoke to says it is now part of their tradition.
“For me, I’ve been doing this with my children for 15 years, so my son is now an adult but still comes with me every year. So, this is something that has affected our family greatly over the years and has been really good for myself personally and for my kids,” said Tiffany Vanderputten, Elf for 15 years.
One volunteer we spoke to says it warms her heart to see families helping other families this Christmas season.
“I had a lady who drove up and she was crying because he felt so good to be able to do this,” said Megan Becker volunteer, Holiday Hamper Foundation.
Becker was also an elf twice before volunteering in the hamper program with her first time back in 2021, helping a Ukrainian mother.
“Just being able to do the delivery and see how much it made her happy and affected her and her two kids, it was just fantastic,” said Becker.
The Hamper Foundation started with 35 families, growing to help more than 2,000 families, as part of it’s 20th year of service.
“This is what Christmas is all about, you’ve got all these people here spending their morning out in the cold, loading turkeys into the trucks and throwing turkeys into the back of the SUVs. Everybody is getting together here and we’re making a huge progress,” said Chris Curtola, Board Member of the Holiday Hamper Foundation.
Similar to the Edmonton’s food bank, Holiday Hamper is also keeping up with the demand especially with the rising cost of living, and Curtola is hoping the campaign can make a difference in the community.
“It’s important for all of us who can help, just to say ‘hey you know what? Let’s help some other people, let’s actually make a difference, let’s take some action,” said Curtola.